10112024-TTC-01.qxd 11/10/2024 12:42 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 311 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 KHARGE HITS OUT AT BJP OVER ‘DIVISIVE SLOGANS’ NATION /thetribunechd ED FILES PROSECUTION PLAINT AGAINST GUJ ‘CONMAN’ J&K VALLEY’S KANI SHAWLS STRUGGLE TO FIND BUYERS SPECTRUM IRANIAN MAN CHARGED WITH PLOT TO KILL TRUMP WORLD sunday | 10 november 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Three die in clash at Garhshankar village TOXIC HAZE VISHAL KUMAR GARHSHANKAR: Panic gripped Moranwali village in Garhshankar tehsil after three persons were killed and one was seriously injured in a clash that broke out between two groups on Saturday. Members of both groups allegedly used sharp weapons and firearms to attack each other. The police, however, denied that bullets were fired during the clash. INSIDE PM raises ek hain to safe hain pitch against MVA Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service MinorNEETaspirant held hostage, raped KANPUR: A minor student, who hailed from Fatehpur and moved to Kanpur to prepare for her NEET at a coaching institute, was allegedly held hostage for over six months and raped by two of its teachers, the police said. The student’s ordeal began in December 2022 when she was putting up at a city hostel. INSIDE Motorists move with headlights on during the day as a thick blanket of smog engulfs Amritsar. Several parts of Punjab & Haryana witnessed ‘poor’ air quality, while it was ‘very poor’ in Chandigarh with an AQI of 335. Bittu likens farm leaders to Taliban, says probe soon to ascertain assets Archit Watts Tribune News Service Ram Temple work delayedby3months AYODHYA: The Ram Temple in Ayodhya, initially scheduled for completion by June 2025, will now likely be ready by September 2025, said Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the construction committee. He cited shortage of workers and the need to replace certain stones on the temple’s first floor for the delay. BACK PAGE Muktsar, November 9 Minister of State and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu today drew a parallel between Punjab farm leaders and the Taliban, and said a probe would be carried out to ascertain their assets. Replying to a query on protests against the BJP over tardy lifting of paddy and shortage of DAP (diammonium phosphate) fertiliser in the state, Bittu said: “Fertilis- WHY NO INVESTIGATION IN 11 YEARS the Centre for 11 years. is ❝ The BJP has been in poweraatprobe? We aren’t scaredWhowill stopping Bittu from carrying out and keep holding protests in farmers’ favour. Sarwan Singh Pandher, FARM LEADER er has to go to farmers, but they (farm leaders) are dictating where it will go. You have become Taliban. You will have to stop somewhere.” Here to pay obeisance at historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the minister claimed many of these farm leaders were either commission agents or rice mill owners. “After the bypoll, it will be investigated as to how much land they owned before becoming farm leaders and now. Who among them is not a commission agent or doesn’t have a rice mill? continued on page 6 Canada scraps fast-track student visa policy Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 9 Canada has made yet another policy shift by putting an end to its fast-track visa programme with immediate effect, impacting thousands of international students. The move is seen as part of the country’s attempt to address ongoing housing shortages and resource strain. In a statement, the Canadian government, however, said the policy had been discontinued JOLT FOR THOUSANDS OF INT’L PUPILS ■ Unveiled in 2018, student direct stream offered study permit to applicants from 14 countries, including India and Pak ■ It provided faster permit approvals, often within weeks, to “strengthen programme integrity, address student vulnerability, and give all students equal and fair access to the application process”. Launched in 2018, the student direct stream (SDS) was compared to standard process that took eight to 12 weeks ■ In 2023, 73% applications of Indians were approved under the SDS as against 10% in case of non-SDS applicants designed to streamline the study permit process for applicants from 14 countries, including India, China, Pakistan and the Philippines, who met specific criteria. The programme, popular among international students, provided faster permit approvals, often within weeks, compared to the standard process. The SDS visa application usually takes three to four weeks to process if all conditions are met, as opposed to eight to 12 weeks or even longer if the normal process is followed. The success rate of the normal process is poor. In 2023, 73 per cent applications under the Indian SDS continued on page 6 HCS officer held for sexually Woman shot in Manipur, abusing male Dalit worker 2nd killing in three days Tribune News Service Hisar, November 9 The Hisar police today arrested suspended Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer Kulbhushan Bansal, who was accused of physically abusing a male Class IV employee belonging to the Dalit community. The police later produced him in a court, which remanded him in one-day police custody for further interrogation. Yesterday, the police had registered a case against the suspect under Animesh Singh Sent to one-day police custody for further probe Sections 377 and 506 of the IPC and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act. Sources said the suspect, who was arrested from Hisar, was first taken to the SP office. He was later produced before the court of Sukhveer Kaur, Civil Judge (Junior Division), which remanded him in one-day police custody. continued on page 6 Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 9 Suspected militants gunned down a woman, second in three days, while she was working in paddy fields at Bishnupur district in Manipur on Saturday. Sources said the incident took place around 11 am at Saiton village in Bishnupur district of Imphal valley, which adjoins the hill district of Churachandpur. Security personnel said the woman, along with other vil- Security forces to launch specialoptonabmilitants lagers, had gone to the paddy fields when armed militants opened fire from the hills of Churachandpur on Saturday morning. On November 7, a 31-year-old teacher was shot in the leg and burnt alive in a Hmar-dominated village of Zairon in Manipur’s Jiribam district. The sources said suspected militants had attacked continued on page 6 Punjab cops neutralise gangster’s 302 Shooters Insta page created to lure youth was inspired by IPC murder Section 302 Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 9 Moving beyond the social media fan pages of gangsters, the Punjab Police’s counter-intelligence wing and its Gurdaspur unit have got shut on Instagram an alarming ‘302 Shooters’ group that had been luring youth, mainly teenagers, into joining the world of crime. The web page title ‘302 Shooters’ was inspired by Haryana defeated caste census agenda, so should Maha: Modi DIGITAL ASSAULT ON CRIMINALS The Punjab Police said the page had about 1,200 members, many from the Majha districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Gurdaspur. Close to 250 such pages or accounts operated by gangsters have been blocked on Facebook, Instagram and X. Section 302 of the IPC, a punishment for murder replaced with Section 103 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Gurdaspur SSP Harish Dayama spoke about the operation on ‘Under Investi- gation’, a crime show of The Tribune. “These teenagers were not criminals. It seemed they only wanted to appear ‘cool’ and joined the group, which had about 1,200 members, many from the Majha region districts of Amritsar, Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including six-page Spectrum. Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Gurdaspur,” he said. The police reached out to the group members to sensitise them to the dangerous path they were pursuing. Close to 250 such pages or accounts operated by gangsters or their accomplices have been blocked on Facebook, Instagram and X. “In the digital era, social media patrolling is as essential as ground monitoring for continued on page 6 New Delhi, November 9 The battle for Maharashtra heated up on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing the Congress’ Haryana poll defeat to urge the western state to follow suit. “Haryana was the first to take the line — Ek hain to safe hain — and foil the Congress’ divisive agenda and conspiracy to fragment communities and weaken them. Now, Maharashtra should follow suit,” Modi said, renewing his attack on the Congress, which has been leading the demand for a caste census. As the polling for Maharashtra (November 20) and Jharkhand (November 13 and 20) drew near, Modi asked SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes to stay united. “The Congress knows that the weaker the country, the stronger the party will be. It’s the Congress nature to divide people on caste lines. Since Independence, the Congress has never allowed the SC community to unite. They have fragmented the STs into various castes and they’ve never let the OBC people develop a Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated during a public meeting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections in Nanded on Saturday. PTI 2011 CASTE CENSUS KEPT UNDER WRAPS: RAJNATH Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking in poll-bound Jharkhand, said the 2011 socio-economic caste census under the UPA government had identified 46 lakh castes, sub-castes, gotras, “which was why the Congress did not release the report” unified identity,” Modi said while speaking in Akola and Nanded in Maharashtra. The PM attacked rival Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition on four issues — “seeking to divide communities by pushing for a caste census; corruption; agrarian distress and insult to Dr BR Ambedkar, father of the Constitution”. Calling the MVA a “mahaghotala (mega scamster) continued on page 6 T’gana begins caste survey; Rahul says Maha to follow suit New Delhi, November 9 The Congress-ruled Telangana on Saturday launched a caste-based survey, setting aside 80,000 enumerators to cover 1.17 crore households across 33 districts of the state. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hailed the move and said PM Narendra Modi “wanted to stop the caste census”. “The caste census started in Telangana today. We will use the data obtained from this to frame policies for the growth of all sections of the state. Soon, this will happen in Maharashtra too. Everyone knows that the BJP does not want to hold a caste census in the country,” Rahul said. He said the PM “cannot stop the caste census across the country”. “We will pass this in Parliament and break the 50 per cent wall on reservation,” Rahul said. AICC general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the caste census and the lifting of the SC-imposed ceiling of 50 per cent on reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs were central to the Congress’ vision for the country. — TNS